TOKOROZAWA, Saitama Pref. -- Fans hoping to see a piece of baseball history will have to wait at least one more night, after the Seibu Lions blanked the Kintetsu Buffaloes 4-0 on Monday evening at the Seibu Dome and prevented Tuffy Rhodes from cracking his 50th home run of the season.
Pacific League WonLostTiedPct.GB Kintetsu 65 53 2 .551 - Daiei 65 54 1 .546 0.5 Seibu 64 56 0 .533 2.0 Orix 56 58 4 .491 7.0 Lotte 56 59 2 .487 7.5 Nippon Ham 45 71 3 .388 19.0
Rhodes entered the game looking to become only the second foreign-born player ever to hit 50 roundtrippers in a single season in Japanese pro baseball. Only Randy Bass, who hit 54 for the Hanshin Tigers in 1985, has accomplished the feat.